AP Photo/Petr David Josek
Team Canada has advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Sarah Fillier, Rebecca Leslie and Renata Fast all scored in Canada’s 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Czechia on Friday in Herning, Denmark. Goaltender Ève Gascon made 14 saves to improve the Canadians to a perfect 5-0 at this year’s tournament.
Team Canada will now prepare for the semifinals, which are set to take place on Sunday. The gold and bronze medal games will be held on Monday.
READ: New-look Team Canada aiming for gold at 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship
Canada is looking to win world championship gold for the first time since 2024. Canada fell 4-3 in overtime to the rival United States in last year’s championship game in Czechia. Canada has won 13 world championship gold medals, including three since 2021.
It was a fairly uneventful but physical first period with shots 11-4 in favour of the Canadians. Just 1:29 into the second, Canada found their scoring touch when Fillier, who was in perfect position at the side of the goal, netted her third of the tournament to make it 1-0. A few minutes later, Caitlin Kraemer found Fillier with a nice feed but couldn’t beat Czech goaltender Klára Peslarová.
Canada’s power play went to work at 3:08 and it didn’t take long to convert. At 4:12, Leslie patiently skated around the offensive zone before moving into the circle and beating Peslarová through a screen to double Canada’s lead.
The Czechs, who had struggled to score in Denmark, got back within one at 11:01. On a power play and with Gascon down, Kristyna Kaltounkova scored on a scramble around the Canadian crease to make it a 2-1 game.
Canada restored their two-goal lead during some four-on-four play with 3:13 remaining in the middle frame. With Leslie providing a screen in front, a Fast shot from the point changed direction and beat Peslarová under the pads, giving Canada a 3-1 advantage.
At 5:17 into the third period, Kendall Cooper was called for boarding to send Czechia back to the power play. The Czechs were pressing in the offensive zone and their efforts were rewarded at 5:57 when Kaltounkova scored her second of the game to cut Canada’s lead to 3-2.
Czechia was generating some pressure in the offensive zone in the final few minutes of the third as they tried to net an equalizer. With 1:23 remaining, Czechia’s comeback attempt took a blow when Kaltounkova took her third minor penalty of the game to send Canada to the power play for the rest of regulation time. The Czechs, who pulled their goaltender to make it five-on-five, could not create any dangerous chances in the final minute.
Canada finished the preliminary round with a perfect 4-0 record to finish first in Group B, outscoring opponents 26-1. The Canadians opened the tournament with a 5-1 win over Sweden — a game that saw the team allow their only goal against prior to Friday’s quarterfinal — and followed that up with a 9-0 win over Japan, a 10-0 victory over host Denmark, and a 2-0 win over Finland.
Friday’s other quarterfinals featured Germany facing Finland, Sweden battling Switzerland and Denmark taking on the United States.
The Americans finished first in Group A with a 4-0 record, outscoring opponents 31-2.
Since the women’s worlds debuted in 1990, Canada and the United States have met in all but one gold medal game. The last two championship finals have needed overtime—as did the gold medal game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, where the Americans won 2-1.
Source: olympic.ca
